The present invention relates to a battery tester for determining the charge level of batteries, and more specifically, the present invention relates to testing the remaining charge level of batteries that are operatively mounted within closed battery compartments of musical instrument bodies and like apparatus without having to remove or disassemble access panels and the like and without having to physically remove the batteries from the battery compartments.
As an example, electric guitars, bass guitars and other electric musical instruments typically have on-board tone control circuits that are battery powered, for instance, by one or two nine volt disposable or rechargeable batteries. The batteries are typically mounted within a battery compartment concealed within the instrument body and are accessible only by removing an access panel or the like fastened to the body with screws or like mechanical fasteners. Accordingly, if new batteries are needed or the existing batteries are to be tested, the access panel must be removed to expose and gain access to the old batteries and/or to replace the batteries.
Most electric guitars, bass guitars and other electric instruments do not have built in battery charge measurement systems. With respect to such musical instruments, this creates a problem in that, if a performer begins to play an instrument and the remaining battery charge is weak, the sound quality of the instrument will degrade rapidly with little or no advance notice. Thus, existing batteries should be replaced with new batteries or removed, tested, and reinserted before any performance.
Merely for purpose of example, battery testing devices and other portable testing devices are disclosed in general, for instance, by U.S. Pat. No. 3,974,441 issued to Van Den Haak; U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,250 issued to Hukuba; U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,887 issued to Saubolle; U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,371 issued to Nagai; U.S. Pat. No. 4,020,243 issued to Oldford; U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,753 issued to Walker et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,493,863 issued to Girdwood; U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,695 issued to Lau; U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,780 issued to Skutch, Jr.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,736 issued to Schwartz; D330,519 issued to Wang; U.S. Pat. No. 1,337,160 issued to Riebeth; U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,831 issued to Young; U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,958 B1 issued to Tsai; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,864 issued to Austin. In particular, the '441 patent to Van Den Haak discloses a device for checking the energy level of a battery in a powered model airplane, boat or car. This battery checking device includes a plug that is removably connectible to a battery recharging receptacle on the model airplane, boat or car and does not require the battery to be removed from the model to perform a check of the battery.
While the battery testing and other devices disclosed by the above referenced patents may function in an acceptable manner, there is a need for a convenient and simple manner of testing battery charge level remaining in batteries installed within various electronic devices, such as musical instruments. Preferably, the battery check should be obtained without the need for fastener removing tools, such as screw drivers or the like, without the need to remove or disassemble access panels or the like, and without the need to gain direct access to, and/or remove, the batteries that are to be checked.